[Rubato verse: piano alone, before the swing kicks in] A girl who sings in hotel bars has heard just about every line From men who tip like it's a down payment and hum along off key I keep the tempo, keep the smile, I keep it all in time Then every once in a blue moon, the past walks in on me [Intro: the piano trio swings in with brushes, the strings sigh in] [A section: big sultry female voice] Five nights a week, a corner lamp, a piano and a stool I sing to salesmen, widows, and a bride who broke the rules Tonight you stroll in, camel coat, a twenty folded fine I only sing standards, baby, and you don't meet mine [A section] You slip the twenty in the jar and ask me for our tune The one you hummed the night you swore you'd marry me in June Sugar, that one's off the list, along with every line I only sing standards, and honey, you don't meet mine [Bridge: the strings lean in] You thought you were a classic, darling, timeless as the rain Turns out you were standard issue, every girl got the same refrain You sang my sister your best verse, the cashier heard it too I heard it from the girl who does my nails, so what's a girl to do? [A section] So take your twenty back, go tip the bartender instead I'll sing the ones that kept their word, and you can keep your bread These songs been sung a million times and never told a lie I only sing standards, baby, and you don't meet mine [String interlude: eight bars, the piano answering] [Bridge: softer, the truth] Now if you want the truth, I wrote a song about you, too It had a pretty melody, and every word was blue I sang it once to an empty room and tore it from the book Some songs don't hold up, sugar, they can't survive a second look [A section: full strings, huge voice] This next one's for the widow and the bride who broke the rules And the girl I was at twenty, who would settle for a fool She'd have played your song all night and called it doing fine But I only sing standards now, and you don't meet mine [Coda: rubato, piano and strings] The bartender's grinning, and the widow lifts her glass to me The bride who broke the rules just tipped me double, so you see Some folks pay to hear the truth, and some folks pay to hide Keep your twenty, sugar, I've been paid in full tonight [Tag: strings swell, a big held last note] No, you don't meet mine [End]
